Comics: Paul Coker Jr’s Cartoons For Mad

Paul Coker Jr. is one of those cartoonists that always seems to be overlooked, yet he is one of the most talented and stylistically ubiquitous artists of modern times. His drawings have appeared in advertisements, on greeting cards and in the pages of Mad Magazine for over half a century. He designed characters for many of the Rankin/Bass holiday puppet TV specials, including “Frosty the Snowman” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”. His sketches are deceptively simple on first glance, but they are solidly drawn and incorporate many fundamental principles in a sophisticated manner. (For instance, check out the masterful control of perspective in the cartoon above.) John Kricfalusi has written an appreciation of Coker’s work, as has David Apatoff. Check out this devastating satire on network television and you’ll be a fan too.

I would like to thank the membership of The International Animated Film Society: ASIFA-Hollywood for sponsoring my efforts to get this project off the ground during its first few years. In particular, I owe a debt of gratitude to ASIFA-Hollywood's president, Antran Manoogian. Without his unwavering support and valuable guidance this project would not exist. -Stephen Worth